Buck 65 at the Danforth Music Hall

Buck 65 played at the Danforth Music Hall Friday night, with openers Skratch Bastid and Cadence Weapon. I arrived a little late, but just in time to see Skratch Bastid out on the stage warming up the near full venue.

Bastid is one gifted DJ - his turntable trickery is unmatched by almost anyone. He did a great one-man show for all to see in detail on a video projection screen.

The stage was set up with hand-drawn cardboard cutouts resembling the New York City skyline and a large screen was centered right in the middle, with video being projected on to it from behind the stage. Off to the side, a second video camera was honed in on the turntables at all times.

Cadence Weapon came out to lots of applause, and people jumped up to the front of the stage. Seeing Cadence Weapon live for the first time, I was really impressed with his crowd interaction. While singing and jumping around, he kept giving high fives to the front row. He hopped down and joined the crowd in dance, more than once. His lyrics were straight hip hop with no gangster overtones, which was refreshing. The man can sing as well. I will expect to hear a lot more from him in the future, and look forward to seeing him the next time he's in Toronto.

Buck 65 came out after a long twenty-five minute break with his DJ, Skratch Bastid. To say Buck is a good storyteller is an understatement. He always speaks a bit about the songs, and life, before moving into the next track.

Buck started it off with his newest single Dang. Right from the start there was very little room to move at the front of the stage (it's a shame there isn't more space at the Music Hall between the seats and the stage. I could tell more people wanted to dance up front but couldn't, and the aisles were spilling over with people grooving.

Buck encouraged the crowd to keep dancing while he played one of his favorite dance tracks - The Cure's Close To Me. At one point he broke out in an amazing solo and the guy can dance.

A Buck 65 show wouldn't be complete without playing The Centaur, and I was not disappointed. I had to wait for it till into the encore though.

It was another great show by former East Coasters. Be sure to catch any of these guys when they pass through Toronto next. You can always check out Skratch Bastid down at the Drake Underground for his monthly residency.

Photos: Hargraftphotography